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Poll: Germans increasingly skeptical of refugees

A new poll has indicated Germans are markedly more pessimistic about refugees. Fifty-six percent of respondents now find Chancellor Merkel to be doing a poor job handling the refugee crisis.

A rising number of Germans believe the country cannot handle the massive influx of refugees, are concerned of rising crime and a threat to their culture, and question Chancellor Angela Merkel's policies, according to a poll by public broadcaster ZDF published on Friday.

For the first time, a majority of Germans say the country cannot manage the influx of asylum seekers, compared to 46 in December. Meanwhile, only 37 percent find the crisis manageable.

That puts German opinion increasing at odds with Merkel, who has repeated the mantra "we can manage" in response to the 1.1 million asylum seekers who arrived in the country last year.

The rising negative sentiment appears in part a reflection of hundreds of alleged sexual assaults on women by North African and Arab men on New Year's Eve, with nearly one-third of respondents saying the attacks had an impact on their opinion of refugees. Two-thirds said the attacks in Cologne and other cities had little impact on their opinion on refugee issues.

A vast majority of 70 percent of respondents expect crime to rise due to a large increase in refugees, compared to 62 percent with the same view when asked in October. Only 27 percent do not expect crime to rise.

The growing negative sentiment is hitting Merkel's numbers on the refugee issue. Compared to 49 percent in December, 56 percent of respondents now say that they do not believe Merkel is doing a good job handling the refugee crisis.

The poll was conducted by telephone with 1,203 random respondents between January 12 to 14.